REALTORS® continue to report that supply remains low compared to demand, according to the January 2015 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey. The Buyer Traffic Index registered at 56, while the Seller Traffic Index was at 41. An index greater than 50 means the number of respondents who have a “strong” outlook outnumber those with “weak” outlook.
Respondents reported that lower mortgage rates were boosting home buying.[1] Meanwhile, supply has been tight with new construction coming in at less than the normal pace of 1.5 million units. Also, although prices have been rising, many homeowners are still reluctant to list as they wait for prices to pick up further to build up more equity. About 19 percent of mortgaged properties, mostly lower priced homes, have equity below 20 percent.
[1] Based on Corelogic’s Third Quarter 2014 Equity Report, 19 percent of mortgaged residential properties have less than 20 percent equity (under –equitized) and 10.3 percent are in negative equity. Home equity is concentrated at the upper end of the market; about 94 percent of homes priced at $200,00 and above have positive equity, while only 85 percent of homes priced at below $200,000 have positive equity. http://www.corelogic.com/research/negative-equity/corelogic-q3-2014-equity-report.pdf